Communism & Gamer Achievements

[Despanan]

So - lowercase "c" communism - a stateless, classless society.

One of the arguments put forth by Capitalists is essentially that communism disinclines people towards work, achievement and innovation - and therefore because of this we must have the threat of death and the incentive of virtually unlimited riches and power to incentivize citizens to produce. "People won't work if they don't have to, and socialism will lead to stagnation & mediocrity" is the argument essentially.

Now beyond the obvious problems with this theory, (I would argue Capitalism doesn't do what they think it does) there's another BIG problem with this that doesn't necessitate a criticism of capitalism, and oddly, the video below (unknowingly) points out why the argument is objectively false in terms of human psychology.

It's a video about why Gamers are completionists and why people get addicted to video games.

So, according to capitalists "profit & death" are the only ways of motivating people - the only reasons we get out of bed every day and do things for the community is fear of starvation and the chance to become a millionaire.

However, psychology says otherwise and to this end we have Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

It starts with the basics, food, shelter security. These are what capitalism will deprive you of so - yes that is a big (if negative motivator) but the pyramid doesn't stop there: once you have those taken care of you've still got two-thirds of the pyramid to go.

People have a NEED to find a community. They NEED to be liked by others - so right there you have incentive to do what needs to be done, without threat of death. Without people who like and respect you, you'll get depressed. So in order to climb up the pyramid you have to have people and from that community, that desire to be liked comes the next step on the pyramid: "Self esteem" you need to be good at something that your community likes to feel good about yourself. So right there you have an incentive to do good, valuable work for others - with or without pay.

But "good" isn't enough for humans, the pyramid's not done, or a healthy mind will get depressed - you need to take that final step: you need to be the BEST at whatever it is you do. You need self-actualization.

Notice how money, power and control are nowhere on that list. None of these things come from video game achievement, yet people keep playing obsessively.

Every time you get an achievement, your brain gets a shot of dopamine and you feel AWESOME. Even with no tangible reward.

So, what does this mean for communism? Scientifically, having the bottom of the pyramid taken care of for you by society won't disincentivize work, innovation and excellence: IT WILL SUPERCHARGE THEM because more people will start looking to the higher levels of the pyramid. People will obsessively work towards self-actualization because that behavior is literally bread into us.

Psychology is bloody fascinating.

http://youtu.be/TNmTvX66Idw

[shadowmimiiru]

Don't give a crap about achievements. I play games for the joy of playing games. I play games for the story the game tells. Screw achievements. Honestly, you try to take away my chance to earn profit and replace it with "self-actualization" I will most likely stab you.

[cain]

[Phantomgrift]

I play certain games for fun, certain games for collecting shit, and certain games with PC only so I can console command any issues as needed.

And Maslows Hierarchy Of Needs is outdated and routinely tweaked to fit each successive generation. Psychology is fascinating because it's never one hundred percent quantifiable.
You can have certain people fit certain parameters, and than an outlier that runs completely contrary to what was generally assumed.

Psychology was honestly more fascinating when they still conducted experiments without all the pesky "moral and ethical ramifications" nonsense introduced in the seventies.

[Despanan]

[Sorce]

If you're ditching your marriage for WoW, the problem isn't WoW.

[Despanan]

Of course, but WOW can contribute to that problem.

Few people have only one problem at a time.

[cain]

My only problem is a lack of booze.

[Phantomgrift]

How much money qualifies as the "1" percent?
Considering that per a national census, apparently there are a rather sizable chunk of Americans who have a net value of more than a million dollars.

Are do the "1" percent only consist of some mythical group that measure their paychecks in billions?
Either way, I rest secure in the knowledge that no matter what he does, Desp will always be nothing more than a mediocre playwright, barely pulling in enough money to comfortably get by.

[Sage]

Yo phant that question has a factual answer.

the top 1% starts at around 100g/year and encompasses about half a percent of the american population (though I used info from 2011 so it's probably changed a little bit.) Conventional knowlege defines the 1% as the top earning percentage of american households- and according to the chart, that one percent takes home ~48% of the total income in the U.S., give or take a bit.